Barça drew with Real Betis in a game with a frenetic ending. After a very disputed first half, in which the Catalans were leading at the break with a goal from Lewandowski, the second half was a mess. The home side equalised from a penalty, converted by Lo Celso, in an action that led to Flick being sent off for protesting. In the final minutes, Ferrán unbalanced the score and put the Blaugranas ahead, but Diao brought the score back to level in added time.

Real Betis and FC Barcelona faced the match corresponding to the sixteenth round at different times. The home side were looking to break a streak of 4 games without a win. The Catalans, for their part, were looking to win to back up their good performance in Mallorca. The Andalusian team had Vitor Roque in their starting eleven, who was in charge of hugging the entire Barça expedition before the referee blew the whistle, although not Rui Silva, who was injured during the warm-up.

A very disputed first half

The match began with a strong push from Betis. In a minute and a half, the green-and-white team got two corners. The second was the most dangerous, finished by Diego Llorente and cleared off the line by Raphinha. Immediately after, Abde, one of the four ex-Barça players in the host line-up, had a one-on-one with Iñaki Peña, but the Alicante goalkeeper resolved it with a good save.

The brave start of their rival surprised Barça, but they recovered as the minutes passed. Abde was close to scoring an own goal in the 6th minute, when he tried to stop an attack by Koundé in the area, but Fran Vieites was alert to save face. The minutes went by and Flick's men grew a lot. Just after the first quarter of an hour, Lamine finished off a Raphinha cross with his shin, which made his shot go slightly wide.

Both teams fought for control of the ball and tried to attack, but the defences were well positioned and for a long time there were no chances. This must have bored 'Chimy' Ávila, who decided to spend his time hitting opponents in every play, without any kind of sanction or reprimand.

After crossing the desert without any chances, Barça found an oasis and went for it. A good triangulation of the culés midfield in the three-quarter zone led to a low cross from Koundé from the right. Lewandowski, completely alone, sent it into the back of the net from the area. It is the fifth goal that the Polish striker has scored against Betis in six games. In terms of his season, this goal is his 16th in LaLiga, his 23rd in all competitions. He is just 3 away from equalling his tally of goals from last season, with 28 fewer games played.

A crazy ending at the Villamarín

At the restart, the first scare came from Sergi Altimira. The midfielder, who trained at La Masía, took advantage of a bad clearance from Lewandowski on a corner to head in. The ball went slightly wide. Immediately after, Abde headed in a cross from Perraud from the left, but the ball followed the same path as his predecessor.

Another dangerous chance for Betis on the verge of the hour mark. From the left, Abde, very active throughout the match, filtered a ball to ‘Chimy’ Ávila. The Argentinean hit a very powerful left-footed shot, but Iñaki Peña, with a stretch, applied a saving hand to thwart the chance.

FC Barcelona started the second half badly. They were completely outnumbered by Betis' attacks. The biggest punishment came in the 65th minute, when Vitor Roque received an illegal charge from Frenkie de Jong in the area and, after reviewing it on the monitor, Muñiz Ruiz pointed to a penalty. This action led to Flick being sent off with a straight red card for protesting, as well as the equalising goal, scored by Lo Celso.

After the action in which the equaliser came, Barça revved up their engines a lot due to their eagerness to take the three points. However, the rush did not allow them to get there clearly and inaccuracies were the order of the day. Clarity appeared in the 83rd minute, when Lamine Yamal rubbed the lamp that genies possess and filtered a perfect pass to Ferrán. The Foios native received the ball and finished from point-blank range to beat Vieites. The second consecutive goal after the injury of the 'Tiburón', who took advantage of the celebration to show a shirt of gratitude for the help to Valencia after the DANA.

There was very little time left before Muñiz Ruiz blew the final whistle, and the Catalans only had to hold out for 6 minutes plus added time, which was 8. However, Diao finished off a cross from Aitor Ruibal in the 90+4 minute, with hardly any angle, and the ball went into the goal defended by Iñaki Peña. The Blaugrana team went for the equaliser in the little time left, but were unable to get back on top. Thus, the Betis youth player spoiled Barça's party, who were eager to win, and did not allow them to establish a winning streak.

Match details:

  • Real Betis, 2: Fran Vieites; Sabaly, Bartra, Llorente, Perraud (Ruibal, min. 72); Altimira, Mateo Flores (Isco, min. 76), Lo Celso; 'Chimy' Ávila, Vitor Roque (Diao, min. 76) and Abde (Jesús Rodríguez, min. 86).
  • FC Barcelona, 2: Iñaki Peña; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde (Héctor Fort, min. 87); Casadó , Pedri (Gavi, min. 74); Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (De Jong, min. 59), Raphinha (Ferrán, min. 59); and Lewandowski (Pau Víctor, min. 74).
  • Goals: 0-1 Lewandowski (min. 39). 1-1 Lo Celso (min. 68). 1-2 Ferrán (min. 83). 2-2 Diao (min. 90+4).
  • Referee: Muñiz Ruiz (Galician Committee). He sent off Hansi Flick with a red card. He showed yellow cards to Betis players Mateo Flores and Sergi Altimira and to Barça players Frenkie de Jong and Héctor Fort.

After this draw, which is not enough for both teams, Barça must concentrate on maintaining their good form in Europe. On Wednesday they will face Borussia Dortmund away from home, with the possibility of attacking the first position in the Champions League table. Follow the news of the Blaugrana on FCBN.